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Had a BA flight Alicante to Gatwick cancelled in August. It was around 11am and the alternative they are offering is 9 hours later at around 8pm. Would this be seen as reasonable re-routing? It doesn’t work at all for us given we will be kicked out of our villa at 10am and we then have two young children and many hours to fill. I might have to bite the bullet and rebook out of my own pocket, just wondering if I would have any recourse with BA whatsoever. Guessing the 9 hours would still be considered ok since it’s the same day?
Have you called them with any alternatives?
There’s a thread from earlier today by someone in a very similar position with some helpful answers. Looks like it’s going to be a summer of chaos at LGW!
Always have a look at alternatives in manage my booking and not just the flight mentioned in the e mail.
Evening flights from ALC can be wheelchair user heavy and can suffer delays.@AndyW – unfortunately, there isn’t a clear cut answer to your question.
I imagine the later option is on Vueling, which will be BA’s rerouting of choice along with Iberia (although I don’t think they fly this particular route). You should ascertain what alternatives there are and the cost of those flights. You can then tell BA that the proposed rerouting isn’t suitable, please can they book you on x or y flight and if it’s EasyJet, they will probably refuse. If they do, you will have reasonable cover to book the EasyJet flight and then claim the cost (after you have flown) on the basis that BA failed to reroute you per the requirements of Article 8. BA should theoretically then keep whatever you have paid and pay you the cost of the new tickets.
There’s no certainty this will work because it hinges on the question of reasonableness as you have identified. The alternative is to ask BA for a refund, telling them you will be claiming the difference in cost for the rerouting flight to which you are entitled but they have refused to book. At least you then aren’t out of pocket for so long and I would go down this route, particularly if the difference between the refund and new flight cost isn’t too great. Claiming the difference carries the same reasonableness risk.
For completeness, I should add that some here will say not to take the refund as that would compromise your rerouting rights, but I believe this to be incorrect. This view would be fortified by telling them (as above) that you are only taking the refund as part payment for the new tickets as you cannot be expected to fund BA.
Thank you for the prompt responses and detail, very much appreciated.
The later flight is indeed Vueling. BA have been incredibly unhelpful so far in the hours I have wasted on the phone. Refusing to book onto the EasyJet that was at the same time as the original (unsurprising) but also saying they can’t send me confirmation that they are refusing – unable to email. Also refusing to put me on an earlier direct Vueling flight because it is not a codeshare. I can’t get through to anyone in London and the India call centre is unfortunately just on computer says no mode!
“ also saying they can’t send me confirmation that they are refusing”
– saying they’re refusing IS a refusal. Just me who records customer service calls from start to finisj? You can be damn sure the business you’re calling is.@AndyW – don’t worry about BA not sending you any written confirmation of their refusal to reroute; that’s normal and they probably don’t even have a way of doing this. Just note the date/time and contents of the call and send it to yourself as an email so there is a contemporaneous note.
It’s odd but BA doesn’t have Vueling in its standard rebooking guidelines, even though it has Iberia.
EasyJet (or indeed the earlier Vueling) may be the path of least resistance if the price difference isn’t too great.
If you go on to ba.com try and make a new reservation. This will give you flights with BA codes.
For example I searched Sun 18 Aug and as alternatives to the direct BA flight it displayed connections via Madrid with BA flight numbers.Alicante To London
13:35 Alicante Alicante
Airline: AIR NOSTRUM FOR IBERIA
Aircraft: BA7125 ()
Depart Alicante: Sun, 18 Aug 2024, 13:35
Arrive Madrid: Terminal 4, Sun, 18 Aug 2024, 14:55
Duration: 1 hr(s) 20 min(s)
1 hr(s) 55 min(s) wait until your connecting flight
16:50 Madrid Madrid
Airline: Iberia
Aircraft: BA7050 (Airbus A320 jet)
Depart Madrid: Terminal 4S, Sun, 18 Aug 2024, 16:50
Arrive London: Terminal 5, Sun, 18 Aug 2024, 18:15
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